Lubricating means for antifriction bearings



Nov. 6, 1928.

F. LEISTER LUBRICATING MEANS FOR ANTIFRICTION BEARINGS Filed D66 l1, 1926 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

Pamesa Nev. s, 192s.I

UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE.. A

IL YETTE LmsTnn, or Nnw BRITAIN, coNNEcTIcUT, AssIeNon To 'rmi nrNm mun- ING COMPANY, or NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, A conromTIoN or ooNNncTIcUT.

LUBRIGATING MEANS FOB ANTIFRICTION'BEABINGS.

Application Illed December 11, 1926. Serialvlo. 154,115.

My invention relates to means for lubricating bearings.

In certam situations, particularly where bearings rotate at comparatively high speeds, I effective lubrication is a serious problem; for example, in certain wood-working machines where antifriction bearings are employed, the shafts usually rotate at the comparatively high speeds of three to seven thousand revolutions per minute. .The retainers usually employed in connection with antifriction bearings oten form, at these high speeds, an effective seal against the entry of lubricant and the bearing then runs dry or with insuiicient lubricant. In order to lubricate such high speed bearings, it has been the practice to rovde a special oil pump for forcing the lu ricalit into the bearing.

It is the principal object of the present 1nvention to overcome many of the diiculties of lubricating antifriction bearings.

It is a further object to rovide an antifriction bearin which em odies pumping means for eectlvely conducting lubricant to the surfaces to be lubricated.

Brieiy stated,'in the preferred form of the invention I employ an antifriction bearing in which a retainer or other means may be employed to practically seal the space between 80 the inner and outer raceway members, when the shaft supported by the bearing rotates at high speed. One of the rotating parts of the bearing (preferably a retainer) is provided with pumping means preferably in the form of an angular opening through the rotating member and extending in a generally axial direction. Lubricant is supplied to the bearing so as to prime the pumping means which then forces lubricant to the bearing surfaces of the bearing.

In the drawings which show, for illustrative purposes only, preferred forms of the invention- Fig. 1 is a sectional view illustrating one' Fig. 1. is a view similar to Fig. 3, but illustrati'ng a slight modilication;

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are views similar to Fig. 3 lllus'trating further modifications; y

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary edge view of a retainer showing a further modification of the lnvention;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the retainer shown in Fig. 8 enibodied in the bearing.

In the a plication of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, 5 indicates a support or housing for a rotating shaft 6. This shaft is supported upon a lower antifriction bearing 7 and a corresponding upper bearing 8. Each bearing unit in the illustrative form shown 1n F1g. 2, is a combined radial and thrust bearing and embodies an inner race ring 9 and an outer ring 10, with antifriction bearin members in the form of balls 11 interpo between the race rings. A -ball spacer 12 serves to hold the balls 11 in proper spaced relation and this spacer nearly spans the space between the inner and outer race rings. Below the bearing 7 (Fig. 1) is an oil reservoir 13, and the oil is preferably maintained in this reservoir up to or slightly above the levelof the lower retainer 12. A conduit 14 serves to connect the space above the lower bearing 7 with a reservoir 15 below the upper bearin 8. A return pipe or conduit 16 is connect to the space above the upper bearing 8 and to the lubricant reservoir 13. A shaft thus supported upon the two bearings 7 and 8 is suitably packed to prevent the leakin out of lubricant during the rotation of the s aft. It will be seen that lubricant conducted from the reservoir 13 and through the lower bearing 7 may pass up through the connection 14 to the upper bearing 8, and through that bearin into the return pipe 16, which conducts t e oil back to the reservoir 13. The embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is merely an illustration of one use to which the invention to be described may be put.

In that form of the invention k shown in Fig. 3, spacer 17 is of the solidblock type, usually of cast bronze, and thi's":reta1ner preferably approaches quite nearto the inner as to cause the retainer to rotate toward the the retainer as indicated, it will in effect left as viewed in Fig. 3, oil, which is supplied to the lower side of the retainer, will. enter the apertures 18, and, due to the rotation of ump the oil in an axial direction into the ball pocket where the oil will serve tol lubricate the surfaces between the balls and the retainers as well as between the balls and the raceway members. Oil, after passing through the oil pockets or spaces between raceway members, is ejected throu h the d1scharge passages 19 by axial impu se.

In that form shown in Fig. 4, the same inlet -openings 18--18 and discharge openings 19-19 are provided, and, in addition, I have formed inlet openings 20--20 and discharge openings 21-21, which extend opposite to corresponding openings 18-19. Rotation of the spacer shown in Fig. 4 in either direction will thus cause oil to be pumped to the bearing pockets. It is probable that some of the oil pumped into the bearing pocket, say, through the openings 18, will be pumped out of the ball pockets by the pumping apertures 20-20. but the quantity so pumped out will 'be small and a large part of the lubricant'will be distributed over the bearing Surfaces to be lubricated.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, the spacer is of a slightly different type from that shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and that particular form does not seal the space between the inner and ,outer rings quite so effectively as do those shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The spacer of Fig. 5, however, is provided with one or more inlet pumping openings 22-22 and discharge openings 23-23. The action of that form shown in Fig. 5 is substantially the same as those previously described.

Fig. 6 illustrates a pressed metal spacer i in which, instead of having holes drilled in at an angle, the metal may be slitted as shown, and lips S24- 24 struck out so as to provide, in effect, angular openings performing the functions of those heretofore described, and these lips will serve to pick up vthe lubricant and force the same into the ball pockets and out through corresponding discharge openings 25-25. The inlet and outlet openings 24-25, as shown in Fig. 6, are on perpendicular, axial planes through the ball centers as viewed in Fig. 6.

In the form shown in Fig. 7, the pressed metal spacer is slitted at opposite sides on planes through the center of the ball inclined to the perpendicular as viewed in Fig. 7. The inlet openings 26-1-26 and exit openings 27-27 are thus formed and the action will be substantially the same as heretofore described. It will be obvious without illustration that all of those spacers shown in Figs. 5, 6 and-7 may be provided with other openings after the fashion illustrated in Fig. 4.

In Fig. 8, I have illustrated a spacer, which, instead of having holes formed directly through the sides ofthe retainer, is provided with inlet grooves 28--28 and exit openings 29-29 on the outer or inner surface of the retainer. Fig. 9, illustratin a section through a bearing embodying t at form shown in Fig. 8, clearly shows the location of the grooves 30-31 on the inner periphery corresponding to grooves 28-29 in the outer surface. Upon rotation of the spacer shown in Figs. 8 and 9, lubricant will be conducted through the bearing and to the ball pockets and bearing surfaces in the manner heretofore described.

It has been found in practice that a bearing embodying a pumping element in a rotating member (preferably the spacer) will serve to raise oil a considerable distance depending upon the speed of rotation, the characteristics of the pumping element, etc., and that two or more bearings as shown by way fof example in Fig. 1, may be effectively lubrieated.

The invention is applicable to many fields where lubrication difficulties have been experienced, and by way of example the woodworking industry and the deep well pump field may be mentioned.

While several modifications have been illustrated, I do not wish to be confined to those particular forms nor to the speciic means for eiecting the pumping action so long as the construction gives to the oil an axial impulse from one to the other end of the bearing unit, for many other'embodiments, within the sco e of the invention, will occur to those skilled) in the art.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, inner and outer raceway members, antifriction bearing members interposed therebetween, a retainer member for said antifriction bearing members, said retainer member having pumping means embodied therein whereby upon rotation of said-retainer member lubricant will be pumped to the anti-friction bearing members and axially through said bearing.

2. In a device of the character described, inner and outer bearing members, ant-ifric.- tion bearing members interposed therebetween, a retainer member substantially sealing thespace between said bearing members,

said retainer having an angularly extending bers therebetween, and means between said` opening therein whereby upon rotative Inoverings to retain said anti-friction bearing ment of said retainer lubricant will be members in proper spaced relation and to 10 pumped in an axial direction through said force lubricant from one side of said bearing 5 opening. to the other side thereof. v

3. In an anti-friction bearing, two concentric race rings, anti-friction bearing mem- FAYETTE LEISTER. 

